Ober

Sep 14, 2019 32 Comments

Let's stop bashing Uber and lyft. If they are so bad then why not fix them?

How hard can it be?

I am thinking from a perspective of where the money goes and in ubers case almost all of it goes to the top execs and marketing. But why do we even need them? Taxis don't advertise themselves and everyone knew about them. The phone apps are not too complicated to make either. Even the volume of data that they process cannot be that high so server costs are also low. The only real cost is the onetime background check per driver.

So why not create OpenUber = Ober?
Open source the code and let hundreds of developers work on it for free. Eventually there will be only a handful of folk maintaining it. Drivers need to pay say 10$ a month for server and background check costs. No surge pricing and customers are happy too. Drivers are their own employees and choose when and how long to work. Ober is essentially just a non profit yelp for drivers.

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TOP 32 Comments
  • Lyft
    iDgz85

    Go to company page Lyft

    iDgz85
    Sigh. If I had a dollar for every time somebody trivializes Lyft/Uber. All the best to you!
    Sep 14, 2019 7
    • OP
      High scale? It is not that high. Payment routing is determined by Google maps. Tons of data? It's not really that much you know. A single good YouTube channel would generate more data
      Sep 20, 2019
    • Lyft
      iDgz85

      Go to company page Lyft

      iDgz85
      Whatever you like to believe man. Maybe all the engineers here and at Uber aren't really doing much work and we should have been building flying cars by now. Don't tell anybody I told you this.

      Instead of arguing on the internet with a random naysayer, go build ober.
      Sep 21, 2019
  • Oracle
    kJ37vg

    Go to company page Oracle

    kJ37vg
    Why do you care about a billion dollar company? Do you own it?

    Stop caring about things. Focus on yourself.
    Sep 14, 2019 4
  • Walmart
    QTFP86

    Go to company page Walmart

    QTFP86
    I appreciate your intention and vision. But it is understatement to say the phone apps are not too complicated to make either.
    Sep 14, 2019 3
  • Airbnb
    wise taco

    Go to company page Airbnb

    wise taco
    Software is no more than 30% of a software company. Even if you manage to duplicate the software, you'll need marketing to tell people to use it, you'll need to deal with payments, you'll have to fight fraud, you need to comply to government compliance requests, you need to have support team to handle calls/emails, ... the list goes on.
    If you think you can start now and beat, Uber and Lyft in their own game, you're just being naive.
    Sep 14, 2019 0
  • I thought of same thing before, just create an app that connects drivers to riders for a fraction of what Uber/Lyft charges.

    But nah, ain’t nobody got time for that
    Sep 14, 2019 3
    • Well, there would be no liability since the app is just a service that is being used by the drivers.

      None of that bs of uber that’s taking the money from drivers to invest in technologies that will replace them.

      Just a simple app to connect drivers to riders.
      Sep 14, 2019
    • OP
      Exactly. It's like finding a plumber online. That is not illegal. Just a driving license and a basic background check is all drivers need anyway
      Sep 14, 2019